Suffield Officials Ask Cl&p For Faster Response To Storms

January 10, 1997|By SHERMAN TARR; Courant Correspondent

SUFFIELD — Town officials have asked the Connecticut Light & Power Co. to respond more quickly to downed power lines, to follow local priorities in deciding who gets service restored, and to trim trees to minimize power outages caused by falling limbs.

First Selectman Roland Dowd, Fire Chief Tom Bellmore, Police Chief Robert Williams and Highway Superintendent Sonny Leavitt made those requests in a letter to CL&P in response to the Dec. 7 snowstorm that knocked out power to about 250,000 homes statewide, including 4,000 in Suffield.

Spokesmen for Northeast Utilities and CL&P, its subsidiary, said Thursday that damage from the storm was overwhelming for utility resources and caused driving conditions that resulted in delays of hours in reaching downed wires.

But Dowd said that explanation is unacceptable because the real reason for the delays is that the utility has downsized too much, to save money and increase profits.

``All they got to do is get more trucks so when we call, a crew can be there in 10 to 15 minutes,'' Dowd said.

Todd Tuomi, general manager for CL&P's Tolland region, said ``It would be nice to have an unlimited number of crews, but we staff our line department for a normal day- to-day workload supplemented with contractors as needed.''

During the Dec. 7 storm, all contractors were helping.

Bellmore said that when a wire falls on a car, his volunteers can't touch the vehicle until a power company crew gets there and makes sure the line is dead.

``Is one hour a reasonable time, or can it be done quicker? Otherwise, our firefighters end up baby sitting downed wires,'' Bellmore said.

Northeast Utilities spokesman Bruno Ranniello said the utility is sympathetic to local concerns, and ``had more than 200 people assigned exclusively to handle downed wires'' in the aftermath of the Dec. 7 storm. In addition, he said, the power company may expand its system of enlisting retired line personnel with trucks and equipment at their homes who volunteer to be on call for emergencies in the towns where they live and to check downed wires.

The officials' letter also asked that decisions on the restoration of power in town be left with the two CL&P supervising technicians who have ``worked for many years in Suffield [and are] familiar with streets, circuits and emergency personnel.''

There's no problem with that request, said Tuomi, adding that each town is different, with some wanting a direct line to NU's emergency operations center, some using a person in town who works with the center, and some, such as Suffield, preferring to have field technicians on site.